School bus involved in Churchville accident Monday

A school bus was involved in an accident the Churchville area on Monday morning. Five Churchville Elementary School students and the bus driver were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries.

A school bus was involved in an accident the Churchville area on Monday morning. Five Churchville Elementary School students and the bus driver were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries. (Ted Hendricks/The Aegis/BSMG)

Police and emergency medical response teams responded to a motor vehicle accident involving a Harford County Public Schools bus and tractor-trailer at Routes 22 and 136 in Churchville Monday morning, according to Maryland State Police and local fire and EMS companies.

Five students from Churchville Elementary School and the bus driver were taken by ambulances to local hospitals with what were described as minor injuries, Maryland State Police said.

Jillian Lader, manager of communications for HCPS, said all parents of the injured students were notified by school officials. The bus is owned by a private contractor, BAMC Student Transportation LLC, serving HCPS, she said.

The crash was reported around 8:40 a.m. Maryland State Police from the Bel Air Barrack responded and at least three ambulances were requested for people with minor injuries, according to the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association’s media Facebook feed.

In a news release, State Police said their preliminary investigation indicates the bus was traveling north on Route 136, just prior to Route 22, when it rear-ended the tractor-trailer which was stopped on northbound Route 136.

According to the news release, the driver, identified as Courtney Renee Vaughn, 41, of Aberdeen, told troopers she was looking in the bus mirror addressing a child on the bus.

When her attention was brought back to the roadway she saw the tractor-trailer, but was unable to stop before crashing into it, police said.

Police said Vaughn is charged with failure to control speed to avoid a collision.

The bus driver was taken to University of Maryland Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace and the children were taken to University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air for treatment of their injuries, police said.

Harford County’s “Choose Civility” campaign kicked off with a breakfast event at the Water’s Edge Events Center in Belcamp on Wednesday.

Harford County’s “Choose Civility” campaign kicked off with a breakfast event at the Water’s Edge Events Center in Belcamp on Wednesday.